Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

The money for the groups, Age Action Ireland and Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, is for the core central office. I do not believe this is an issue that can be driven in the communities around the country by putting money through a core central office. I am not against the existence of a core central office, but all that money goes to that office. We get the moneys to the communities through the various schemes we operate, for example, the rural social scheme. Much of the work done by the rural social scheme involves going into people's houses, providing transport services — many of the community buses are driven by people on the scheme. That is a very efficient way to get the services to where the people are, by going directly to the people with the service.

As the Deputy knows, the pilot evening transport service is in seven areas. Funding of €500,000 was provided for that on a one-year basis. That will have to be evaluated. The word on the ground is that it is good, but we will have to get some objective measure on how well that programme is working and we will consider that. There is, of course, the community support for older people, CSOP, scheme, which provides locks and various things for the elderly. That scheme is operated by the Department. There is also the community services programme.

Each community is much better off by having access to schemes directly and tailoring those to its particular needs than by having one central template administered by a specific body. My experience in my community with the delivery of services to older people and in other rural and urban communities I visit is that they are accessing schemes such as the community services programme, the rural social scheme etc. and making very good use of them.

See this speech in context